Planetary nebula
NGC 3918
Planetary nebula
A shell of gas thrown off by a dying Sun-like star, glowing in the ultraviolet light of the hot core at its centre. Within a few tens of thousands of years it will disperse and fade from view.
| Type | Planetary nebula |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Centaurus |
| Distance | 1,000 pc (3.3 thousand ly) |
| Diameter | 0.3 ly |
| Central star | IUE obsns |
| Expansion speed | 24 km/s |
| PN G name | PN G294.6+04.7 |
| Source | Strasbourg–ESO PN Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 11h 50m 18.9s |
| Declination (J2000) | −57° 10′ 51″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 33° N. South of latitude 33° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in March, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around 1237 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 58 million years.